Chapter 40
Chapter 40
I was a bit taken aback.
Given Seon A-hyun’s personality, I expected to find him huddled in a corner, sobbing his eyes out. Instead, his face showed a surprising amount of composure.
How should I put it? If anything, he looked like he’d braced himself for battle.
He wasn't even holding his smartphone.
When I called out to him and then fell silent, Seon A-hyun finally looked startled and asked back, “W-Why…?”
“No, well…”
There was no need to go looking for trouble. I let my words trail off and pulled a chocolate bar out of my bag instead.
It was a learned behavior from dealing with the Cha Yu-jin incident.
“Want one?”
“O-Oh! Thanks…”
Seon A-hyun accepted the chocolate bar with both hands as if it were a sacred relic and tucked it carefully into his bag.
“…?”
Is he not going to eat it?
As if sensing my confusion, Seon A-hyun spoke hesitantly.
“I-I have to manage my weight… If my b-body gets heavy, my dancing gets weird. I shouldn’t g-get used to late-night snacks.”
“Is that so?”
A former dance major really is different. I was about to accept that and move on when I suddenly noticed a contradiction.
“Didn’t you give me a chocolate bar after midnight during the grade evaluation?”
“M-Moon-dae is fine! You were s-so thin back then…”
“…”
So that was the story behind that.
Just as I was feeling absurd, I heard laughter from the next bed.
“Right, Park Moon-dae was so skinny back then that I thought he was on an extreme diet.”
“But it turns out it’s just his constitution, right? Man, seeing how much you eat… You don’t gain weight at all compared to what goes into your mouth. I would’ve turned into a pig long ago.”
Keun Se-jin and Gold 1 chimed in. Good grief.
‘I only ate a lot to keep my stamina up, but I guess I was being misunderstood like that.’
It was a bit unpleasant, but thanks to their nonsense, the atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten up.
Seon A-hyun was also chuckling softly from below, but when he locked eyes with my deadpan expression, he jumped and ended up choking on his own spit.
“…”
What a… peculiar guy.
Without a word, I tossed him the water bottle from my bedside.
After a few clumsy fumbles, Seon A-hyun caught the bottle and took a drink.
Then he muttered softly.
“I, I want to do well. Even more so this time.”
“…I’m sure.”
Judging by that comment, it seemed Seon A-hyun had checked the internet sentiment after all. I figured he just hadn't looked too closely, which was why he was maintaining his composure.
After a moment of thought, I cautiously broached the subject.
“…It might just get in your head for no reason, so don’t look for anything else on the internet. Let’s just stick to the research materials.”
“Ah…”
Seon A-hyun let out a strange exclamation, then suddenly answered with a burst of determination.
“I-I already knew, so i-it’s okay. I-I was prepared.”
“Huh?”
‘What is he talking about?’
Seon A-hyun muttered with an embarrassed expression.
“I-I saw all those posts before filming started. I k-kept looking, and they just kept coming up…”
“…”
So that’s why he looked like he was at a funeral when we first met on the first day of filming.
Back then, public opinion wasn't as bad as it is now, but isn't the internet a place where all sorts of things are posted under the surface anyway?
Since Seon A-hyun probably wasn't very familiar with the internet, he likely didn't know where to stop and looked through everything.
‘Just how far did he search?’
I had a feeling he’d even scoured those bottom-tier trash communities where people do nothing but bash idols all day.
Seon A-hyun added more words as if making excuses.
“I, I knew it would turn out like this someday. I-I prepared myself. I-It’s okay. I-I’m used to it, too.”
“Is that so?”
“Y-Yes!”
Seon A-hyun nodded quickly, but I felt a bit uneasy.
‘When he says he’s "used to it," he’s probably talking about being mocked for his stutter.’
I’d thought this before, but he was definitely someone who had tasted hell in his relationships with his peers. Kids these days are terrifying.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“It won’t last long, so don’t worry. Once we do well on stage, it’ll disappear again.”
“D-Do you think so?”
“Yeah. It’s a survival show.”
Unless someone truly deserves the hate, most of it is just keyboard warriors acting out. Their real lives are crap, so they find it fun to pick on someone they’re allowed to bark at on the internet.
Once another celebrity becomes the hot topic, they’ll all swarm over there.
I shrugged.
“Starting tomorrow, I might be the one getting cursed out.”
“Eh? N-No…! Y-You haven’t done anything wrong…”
“You haven’t done anything wrong either.”
“…”
When Seon A-hyun fell silent in embarrassment, Keun Se-jin answered in his place.
“So, what you’re trying to say is, ‘A-hyun, don’t think it’s natural to be hated,’ right? Wow~ Moon-dae, aren’t you just too cool? If I were a viewer, I would’ve bought your stocks already.”
“Uh, sure.”
“Wow. Even this doesn’t work anymore?”
Keun Se-jin chuckled and rolled around on his bed. Gold 1, who used the bottom bunk, looked horrified but didn't hold back his words of encouragement for the team.
“Stop it, you lunatic, the bed’s gonna collapse! …Anyway. Let’s just work hard. Let’s make this stage an absolute hit!”
“Let’s do it!”
The relentless effort to somehow sublimate the situation into motivation lifted the mood in the bedroom. A warm, energetic atmosphere was vigorously fostered.
Then, Kim Rae-bin, who had been silent the whole time, muttered in a small voice.
“Yes. In that sense, I’ve found and organized reference materials for the costumes and patterns for the props. Would it be alright if I uploaded them to the group chat now…?”
“……Oh.”
“Ah.”
Right. That was the whole point of looking at our smartphones.
It seemed he’d found them long ago but couldn't bring himself to speak up because of the atmosphere.
Then again, from Kim Rae-bin’s perspective, he’d been dragged through the mud during the first team match, so the current internet atmosphere probably felt like a walk in the park. He wouldn't have had any trouble searching.
“……Ahem, of course.”
“Yes. I will upload them.”
At the same time as Gold 1’s dry cough echoed through the room, smartphones vibrated all over.
I checked the materials Kim Rae-bin had uploaded.
[Color_Texture_Pattern_List_Clothing_Base.xlsx]
[Prop_Pattern_Detail_List_No_Base.xlsx]
When I clicked on them, the way he had organized everything by category was no amateur feat. Even the production crew probably hadn't expected this level of detail.
‘He’s talented.’
Everyone must have had similar thoughts, as exclamations and brief compliments were exchanged. Keun Se-jin even whistled.
“…Thank you.”
After Kim Rae-bin’s awkward thanks, the team members continued their discussion about costumes and stage props until 3 AM.
It seemed their determination to make the stage perfect was manifesting as the behavior of ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’
I have the status window, so I’m one thing, but these guys were truly something else.
After spending another two days devoted to labor and practice from dawn to dawn, the damn mid-term evaluation time arrived again.
This time, the stage director, music director, and even the costume team sat in to evaluate us alongside the trainers.
First, if I were to do a self-evaluation, even thinking as objectively as possible, this team’s current direction was good.
Still, I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I had never received a good evaluation during mid-term feedback so far.
However, this time, the results were… blatantly good.
“I loved it.”
“Let’s just keep going like this!”
The feedback started with those sentences.
Watching the beaming trainers and the impressed guest judges, the team members realized the situation in a slow gradation.
First, the choreographer.
“Who came up with the choreography? You all did it together? No, there must have been someone who took the lead. …Wow, did you guys coordinate your answers? You really all did it together? ……Fine. Who did what will come out in the broadcast anyway. Regardless, you did so well I have nothing to say.”
Next was the vocal trainer, Mudie.
“First of all, I’m so proud that your pitch doesn't waver even while moving that much! And the way the singing style changed from the original song to match your new interpretation is very charming. Let’s go all the way to the final stage with this feeling!”
Even Young-rin gave rare, overt praise.
“I can tell that a lot of thought and practice went into this stage, but the best part is that it doesn't feel like you're showing it off like amateurs. Even though it’s a mid-term evaluation, it already feels complete. I want to see it on stage as soon as possible.”
At this point, the team members became ‘Thank you’ bots, repeating their gratitude over and over.
Amidst a series of rave reviews where it wouldn't have been strange for anyone to burst into tears of emotion, even the directors and the costume team didn't hold back their praise.
“Looking at the drafts you wrote here, we could immediately feel that you put a lot of care into the details. Seeing what you’ve prepared now, I think it will look great on stage.”
“This is a team that made the arrangement process very smooth. There’s a friend who already knows a lot, and they didn't waste time talking about different things; they just organized exactly what they wanted, so we enjoyed producing the sound. Seeing the stage today, it’s just as cool as we expected.”
“This team entered the costume production stage very quickly. The concept was clear, and there were few ambiguous parts. I want to see you performing in the clothes we made as soon as possible~”
The expressions on the team members' faces after this whirlwind of praise were truly a sight to behold.
They were happy but couldn't quite believe it, so they just nodded with dazed expressions.
Even Keun Se-jin couldn't manage his closing remarks properly.
“Team, no, uh… thank you. We will work even harder!”
“Don’t work so hard that you hurt yourselves!”
Clap, clap, clap. Following the judges' applause and a group bow, we returned to our seats.
The completely shell-shocked team members could only offer reflexive reactions to the other teams' performances. They were no different from a live audience.
I was also stunned.
‘Things are going this well?’
Because I’d been immersed in completing this for days without proper sleep, I hadn't been able to be certain how good it would look.
At most, I’d thought, ‘It should be decent.’
‘…Anyway, it feels good.’
I felt a slight high from the sense of achievement.
I just stared at the other participants' performances, savoring that sense of accomplishment for a while.
It was close to midnight when the mid-term evaluation finally ended.
“That was so good.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
The team members muttered from their beds. Perhaps they only truly felt it now that it was all over, as their voices were dripping with a happiness they hadn't shown before.
“I think we can really do well.”
“R-Right.”
This pattern of agreeing with each other repeated a few more times.
‘Are we just going to sleep today?’
I might actually get more than four hours of sleep for once.
I quickly closed my eyes. But at that moment, work talk came up again.
“Ah, we didn't decide on the color for the costume sleeves.”
“Oh, right.”
These guys were truly relentless. I forced my eyes open. Dammit.
“I have a few things I looked at, hold on.”
The small sound of Keun Se-jin tapping his smartphone screen echoed.
“I saw it here…”
But his next words didn't follow. Keun Se-jin just froze, holding his smartphone.
“What is it?”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Keun Se-jin, whose face had turned deathly pale, was staring at some screen.
The smartphone screen glowing in the dark bedroom was clearly visible even from a distance.
‘It’s a gossip board.’
Linked to a major portal site, it was a place famous for being a hotbed of conflict, rumors, and controversy.
Without saying anything more to Keun Se-jin, I accessed that board on my own smartphone.
And I saw a post that had already entered the rankings despite being posted only 30 minutes ago.
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[3rd Place! Exposing Idol Inc.’s Keun Se-jin for School Violence. (425)]
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It was a massive, beautiful landmine.
‘Son of a…’
I knew things were going too well today.